Devin Booker scored a season-high 38 points for Phoenix in his first game at TD Garden since he put up 70 against the Celtics on March 24. T.J. Warren had 19 points, and Tyson Chandler finished with 14 points and 18 rebounds.

Booker was certainly thinking about playing in Boston again.

"This whole week I've been getting questions about the game," he said. "But like I said, it was a great night. Tried to come out and be aggressive. Just fell a little short."

Phoenix cut a 17-point deficit to 105-103 on Chandler's dunk late in the game. But Irving, who returned to the game with 4 1/2 minutes left with the lead down to eight, responded with a 3 from the right wing on the next possession, and his spinning shot off the backboard made it 112-106 with 29 seconds left.

"We have to do more of that for Kyrie, so he can just go out there and not have to work so hard all the time," Horford said.

Leading by one late in the third, the Celtics closed the quarter with an 11-2 run. Marcus Morris' alley-oop jam in the final seconds made it 89-79.

Boston then scored the first seven points in the fourth before Phoenix rallied with 15 of the next 19 points over a five-minute stretch.

"It's just understanding the game and what's available and not making mistakes down the stretch," Suns interim coach Jay Triano said.

Coming off a season-low two points when he played only 22 minutes, Brown scored 16 in the opening half.

Tip-ins

Suns: Reserve C Alex Len was sidelined by a sore left ankle. "It's still bothering him a little bit," Triano said before the game. "I think if we needed him, he could play."

Celtics: Improved to 10-2 at home. ... They shot 57.5 percent (23 of 40) in the opening half, going 9 for 17 on 3-point attempts. ... Stevens switched his starting lineup for the second half, inserting Daniel Theis and removing Aron Baynes.

Ouch

Booker banged right knees with Brown late in the first quarter and limped slowly to the bench during a timeout. He pointed toward the right side of his knee while talking to the trainer, but returned at the start of the second and nailed a jumper in the opening minute.

Up Next:

Suns: At the 76ers on Monday in the fifth of a season-high six-game road trip. It's the first meeting between the teams this season.